


all is well

by captain_kriegy



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:47:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26704723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_kriegy/pseuds/captain_kriegy
Summary: maya and robert sullivan are married with four incredible kids. lots of family, softness, and of course, some smut.
Relationships: Maya Bishop/Robert Sullivan
Kudos: 11





	all is well

“Fuck, Maya,” he groans. She smirks, and he tugs on her hair a bit harder. She runs her tongue all over his dick, and then sucks it deeper into her mouth. She closes her eyes and sucks him the way she knows he likes. His hips jerk and she takes more of him into her mouth, momentarily sliding her mouth as far down as she can go before pulling back to suck on his tip. She tastes his precum on the back of her tongue and she squeezes his base in response. He reaches for her other hand and holds it in his own, and she squeezes his hand. The first time he reached for her hand while she sucked his dick was back when they first started dating. Maya had pointed out the inherent irony in holding her hand while she sucked his cock, and he had shrugged and said “I just like holding your hand.” 

Maya pops off his dick for a moment, just licking up the side and sliding her hand down from his base to cup his balls. 

“You gonna cum for me?” She asks, licking up over the head to catch another drip of precum. She then licks her own lips as she looks up at him expectantly. 

“Maya,” he groans, cupping the back of her head and running his hands through her hair. 

“Tell me what you want,” she requests, biting down on her bottom lip and stroking him gently with her hand. His cock is thick and rock hard, another drip of precum sliding down the side. He arches his back and closes his eyes when she sucks his tip again, but she stops there, waiting for a reply. 

“Fucking suck me, Maya,” he grunts. She smirks and then goes to work. She thrusts his dick as far into her mouth as she can before pulling back and thrusting again. He holds her hair and bucks his hips up into her mouth with each thrust, little grunts and groans falling from his mouth as his thighs and abs twitch. She tastes his precum coating her tongue and she gently starts playing with his big balls, rolling them in her hand and teasing them with her thumb. 

“Gonna cum,” he grunts, and he tugs her hair again. She sucks as hard as she can, letting her tongue run on the underside of his dick, pushing as much as she can into her mouth. She moans as his hips finally jump up one last time and he holds her hand and her head as he blows his load in her mouth. The spurts of cum quickly fill her mouth and she holds his thigh down and slowly pulls back on his dick, popping off once her mouth is full. She lets the last couple spurts of cum spray across her bare breasts as she swallows, her tongue sliding out to catch a drop that is spilling down her chin. “Fuck,” he mumbles, watching Maya and squeezing her hand. 

Maya climbs up his body and presses a kiss to his lips. The kiss is messy, his cum still coating her tongue and them both moaning when he sucks on it. After Maya breaks the kiss, a bit out of breath and her eyes dark, he tugs her up a little bit more, so he can lick his cum off her chest. He licks across both of her breasts until they’re clean, and then takes a nipple into his mouth, sucking on it. She lets her head tilt back and lets out a quiet whimper, his mouth on her nipples going straight between her legs. He bites gently on one and pleasure shoots down her body while her pussy floods. She climbs up so her hips are straddling his head, and he smiles and tugs her hips down to his mouth. 

“Yessss,” she moans, gripping the headboard as his tongue starts to work its way through her soaked folds. He moans into her pussy and she starts to ride his mouth, her eyes falling closed with each lick perfectly placed over her clit. “Oh, fucking fuck.” 

Her muscular thighs grip his head and she pushes her hips down on his mouth so hard he can barely breathe out of his nose. And he absolutely loves it, tasting every drop of her soaked pussy, his moans and whines vibrating against her pussy as he has the time of her life eating her out. He wraps one arm around her waist, keeping her steady, and squeezes her ass with the other. After being together for so long, he knows every single inch of her body—how to touch, how to lick, and just when to push. She lets out a sharp moan when he roughly licks her clit, and he keeps her hips on his mouth until her moans get louder and she arches her back, letting her head fall back, her long, blonde hair grazing his hands on her ass. 

“FUCK,” she screams, and her legs start to shake while her hips jerk erratically. 

He wants to talk to her, tell her he has her, it’s okay, she can let go. But instead, he squeezes her ass and her hip gently and starts to suck on her clit, and it has the same effect. He can’t wait, moaning into her as he knows she’s getting close. He wants her to cum all over his mouth. 

“Fuck, yes,” she moans, her eyes closing shut and her fingers gripping the headboard hard. Her mouth opens in a silent scream as she finally cums, her knees digging into the side of his head and sharp waves of pleasure running through her body while her pussy squirts into his mouth. He swallows all of her cum and then licks her pussy as best he can until she bonelessly rolls off him in a heap, far too sensitive to take it any longer. 

He rolls over to wrap his arms around her, his hand instinctively covering her boob as he presses a kiss to her shoulder. “We have to get in the shower, baby,” he whispers. She groans, but she knows he’s right. Dakota will be back soon and they certainly don’t want to get caught naked and messy after sex. Again. 

He gently massages her boob, and she tilts her head to kiss his lips gently, tasting herself on him. “Was that a good one?” He asks, already knowing the answer. 

“You’re only asking to build up your own ego,” she mumbles, rolling her eyes. 

“I mean, you did just squirt on my face, so.” 

“Yes, it was good, now get your ass up and let’s get in the shower.” 

They stumble into the shower, trying to quickly wash their bodies off. Robert stands against the back wall of the shower after he cleans off and watches Maya wash her hair. Even after years of marriage, he still loves to watch her wash her hair—something about it is so erotic. She rinses the shampoo out, her head tilted back, and he picks up the conditioner and motions for her to turn around. He pours a little bit of conditioner into his hand and applies it just the way she does, only on the bottom of her hair. He leans in and presses a soft kiss to her shoulder afterwards, for good measure. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers next to her ear. She turns around in his arms and presses a soft kiss to his lips, before pulling back so she can rinse out the conditioner. He lets his eyes roam her body, and she feels it. She smiles because even after all of these years, he still looks at her like she’s the center of the world, and it still makes her heart skip a beat. 

Once she’s confident the conditioner is out of her hair, she presses him against the wall of the shower and leans in for a deep kiss. She slips her tongue into his mouth and he opens his mouth in return. His hands run down her back and rest on her ass, and they both groan when her breasts press against his chest. 

“God I love you,” she mumbles against his lips, kissing him once more. He bites her bottom lip to tease her and then sucks on it gently. But before they can get too invested in their makeout session, they hear the keycard in the door, and then it being pushed open. They turn off the water and dry off quickly, Robert wrapping a towel around his waist and Maya reaching for a robe. 

“Please tell me you two were not having shower sex in the shower I also have to use,” Dakota questions. She’s sitting cross-legged on her bed when they stumble into the room, scrolling on her phone. 

“No, we were not,” Maya insists, walking over to her bag and rumbling through it looking for her joggers. 

“Oh, so a post-sex shower, even better,” she retorts, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Maya rolls her eyes and Robert blushes, because he does every time one of the kids makes a comment about their sex life. 

“Where’s your sister?” Maya asks. She pulls her underwear and joggers on and then turns around and drops the robe while pulling a shirt over her head. Robert grabs his clothes and heads to the bathroom, never liking to change in front of the kids. 

“I don’t know, she said she was going to get something or do something a couple of hours ago,” Dakota replies. “She was being cagey about it so I figure there’s about a 50% chance she’s going to smoke and a 50% chance she just wanted an excuse to go back to her room and have phone sex with Pru.” 

Maya would usually admonish Dakota’s commentary on Pru and Vanessa, but a laugh comes tumbling out of her mouth before she can say anything. “Well, she better not be smoking,” Maya says instead.

“She’s 22, mom.” 

“And an athlete who shouldn’t be smoking,” Maya adds, a smirk on her face. Robert returns, fully dressed in his typical pajamas, pretending he didn’t hear any of the conversation that he clearly overheard perfectly well from the bathroom. “How was dinner? How are you feeling?” Maya asks, sitting down on her bed with her. She leans against the headboard and Dakota leans back against her, and rests her head on her chest. 

“It was fine, I’m just nervous,” Dakota admits. “Can we just put Rob’s game on and not talk about me?” 

Maya kisses the side of her face, and Dakota laughs at her mom’s antics. Robert reaches for the remote and slides into the bed on the other side of Maya, one hand on Maya’s thigh, just enjoying being close to them both. Dakota, being the youngest by a number of years, definitely was a momma’s girl, and affectionate in a way that Vanessa wasn’t. If Maya had suggested Vanessa sit between her legs when she was Dakota’s age, Vanessa would’ve laughed at her and rolled her eyes. So it always pleasantly surprises Robert when he sees how her and Dakota are so close. He puts on the game, which they’re glad is on network so the hotel TV has it. They’re still running through the pre-game show, and Dakota picks up her phone and keeps scrolling through Instagram. 

“How’s his knee been?” Maya asks Robert, knowing he talks to Rob most often. Last week, he had told them both on the phone that his knee was acting up, and Maya is a bit worried. 

“I think it’s okay,” Robert replies. “He sent me a photo of it after practice the other day and it was pretty blown up, but then he said that the ice bath and just elevating it helped. It doesn’t seem like anything is sprained or broken.” 

“We think he’s playing tonight?” Dakota asks. 

“Absolutely,” Robert replies, and Dakota laughs. When they show the lineups and Rob is indeed starting, Robert simply smirks and Maya rolls her eyes. Right as the game is beginning, they hear a knock on the door. 

“Ugh, I’ll get it,” Dakota says, knowing it’s just Vanessa coming to watch the game with them. She jumps off the bed and opens the door to the room, and then Maya and Robert hear a shriek. 

“BISHOP!?!” Dakota yells, and then jumps up into his arms. Maya and Robert look at each other in excitement before jumping up and wrapping Bishop and Dakota in a bigger hug. “Oh my God, this is what you were being cagey about?!” Dakota asks Vanessa, shocked. They all pull back to give Bishop some room to breathe, and Vanessa smiles widely and nods. 

“It was top secret! He wanted to surprise you,” Vanessa explains. Bishop ruffles Dakota’s hair and pulls her into another hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning around with her once before setting her down. 

“You came all this way just to watch me run for seventeen minutes?!” She asks, shocked. 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he responds. Once he breaks away from Dakota, he turns to give Maya and Robert big hugs as well. 

“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?!” Maya asked, still shocked that her second-youngest is standing in front of her after flying all the way from Durham to Portland for his fourteen year old sister’s high school cross country meet. 

“I wanted it to be a surprise. And I wasn’t totally sure I was going to be able to swing it, so I didn’t want to let everyone down if I couldn’t make it out,” he explains. “But, enough with me, I don’t want to miss the game!” 

Maya and Robert retreat to their own bed, which is still messy from their escapades earlier, sheets and blankets everywhere. Vanessa, Bishop, and Dakota all climb into her bed, and quickly start arguing over the number of pillows allotted to each person. Maya throws some pillows from their bed at them to settle the dispute. 

“Wait, is this why you were so insistent on getting your own room?” Maya asks Vanessa.

“Eh, yes and no,” Vanessa retorts with an inappropriate wink, and Maya rolls her eyes playfully in response. Vanessa is too much like her sometimes. 

They enjoy Rob’s game with the typical level of chaos that is the Sullivan family—Vanessa throws popcorn at the TV when he makes a bad play, Bishop sits back and takes it all in, and Dakota loudly defends each and every one of Rob’s questionable moves when Vanessa insults them. Robert tells them to shut it because they’re being distracting and Maya curls up against him, resting her head on his shoulder and smiling against his skin. 

Three of her kids are here, and one is on the television screen. She can see all four of them at the same time, live. It’s a rare occurrence these days, and she’s feeling more at peace than she has in a long time. Rob’s team eventually loses by one touchdown, and Maya can see the anger on his face through the television screen. 

“I’m going to text and ask how his knee is,” Bishop pipes in among the frustration in the room. 

“I don’t understand why this team is so incompetent this year,” Robert grumbles. 

“I mean, if Rob is going to lose this many games, he might as well play for the Raiders and be on the same coast as us,” Dakota suggests. 

“Maybe one day the Seahawks will take pity on him,” Vanessa adds. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Maya says. 

“What? I wasn’t insulting Rob, he’s one of the best players on that dumb team,” Vanessa grumbles. 

“Okay, alright, I know. But I think it’s time everyone goes to bed so Dakota can get some rest before tomorrow,” Maya explains. Vanessa and Bishop give both of their parents and Dakota hugs on the way out of the room, and then go back to Vanessa’s room for the night. Maya and Robert cuddle up in bed again and turn off the TV, and Dakota tosses her airpods in so she can listen to some music while she stretches on the floor. 

“I can’t believe Bishop came,” Maya says, looking up at Robert with a smile. “He’s such a good kid.” 

“He is,” Robert replies, running his hands through Maya’s hair. “Here we were, thinking he was so stressed about finals being in a couple of weeks,” Robert jokes. Maya laughs with him and then kisses him gently. They lay together in silence while Dakota stretches, not wanting to bother her in any way. When she’s ready for bed, they turn off the lights. Dakota sighs dramatically as soon as the lights are off. 

“You okay?” Maya asks. 

“Can I sleep with you guys?” She asks, quietly. She has never been this nervous in her life. It’s her first Nike Cross Nationals, and she’s been looking forward to this for years. Her brain is moving too fast and she can’t even imagine the idea of falling asleep right now. Maya gets up and slides into Dakota’s bed with her, and Robert follows, spooning Maya from behind. Maya kisses the top of her head and holds her hand, hoping that some contact helps her relax and fall asleep. 

“Before my first NXN, I was so nervous that I woke up in the middle of the night completely drenched with sweat. So gross,” Maya tells her, and Dakota laughs. “I had a dream that I’d showed up in full winter gear. Jeans, boots, puffy jacket. And I had to run the race that way. Everyone else was in their regular uniforms. I could barely lift my legs, it felt like my boots weighed a hundred pounds. I was lagging behind the last pack, and I just kept thinking about how embarrassing it was going to be when I finished dead last.” 

Dakota chuckles and smiles, and Maya catches a glimpse of her smile in the moonlight. “But, at the end of the day, it’s just another race. You’re not going to finish last. And whether you win or finish fifth or tenth or thirtieth it’ll be a starting point. This is your practice run, your first nationals, it’s not going to be anything like any of the other races. These girls are older and bigger and stronger and may very well be faster, and they should be faster. You have nothing to lose. By senior year, if you haven’t won it yet, you’re allowed to be so nervous you can’t sleep,” Maya promises. “But there’s no pressure tomorrow. I know you want to win. I want that for you. But sometimes taking pressure off yourself is what will help you succeed the most.” 

Dakota nods, and rests her head on the same pillow next to Maya’s. 

“I can’t believe Bishop flew all the way here,” she mumbles. 

“I can,” Maya replies. “You spent your whole childhood hanging out at all of their games. This is their first big shot to return the favor.” 

“I wish Rob could come,” Dakota admits. “I miss him.” 

“I miss him too, kiddo,” Maya says, squeezing her little hand. “You know he would if he could.” 

Eventually, Dakota falls asleep. As soon as Maya registers that she’s out, she also falls asleep, absolutely exhausted from the day. The alarm feels like it goes off far too early. Dakota jumps out of bed faster than either of them have ever seen, and gets ready for the morning team jog out on the field. She’s out the door before Maya and Rob even get dressed, practically skipping to meet everyone in the lobby. Vanessa texts and tells them that they will meet them in the lobby in 20 so that the four of them can go to Starbucks on the way over while Dakota is out on her morning jog. She frames it as “so we can get Dakota her favorite pastry for when she’s done with the race,” but Maya just laughs, knowing her ulterior motive is her favorite latte. Maya and Rob toss on their jeans and sweaters before heading down. They figure they have probably an hour before they need to be at the field to meet Dakota with breakfast and set up. Maya and Rob take seats on some lounge chairs and wait for Vanessa and Bishop. 

“Kind of strange that Rob never texted us back last night,” Maya notes. Even when he’s angry or upset about a loss, he usually will at least respond to that effect. “Are you sure he’s feeling okay?” 

Robert ponders for a moment, and then Maya looks up and is convinced her eyes are playing with her. Vanessa and Bishop turn the corner with what appears to be Rob right behind them. 

“ROB?!” Maya yells, jumping up. She runs over to pull him into a big hug, and he laughs at the sheer shock. Robert joins the hug once again, and Vanessa starts laughing at the reaction from her parents. “Oh my God. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

Rob smiles and laughs, and Maya finally lets go of him so that he can more properly hug his dad. “I took the red eye right after the game. Wouldn’t miss it. But also, didn’t want her to see me right before the race and get her off her game,” he explains. 

“How did you get here?” She asks, confused. 

“Vanessa picked me up, like, three hours ago,” he replies. Maya turns and gives Vanessa a big hug.

“I wanted Bishop to sleep, since he was on a plane all night, and Ubers at three in the morning are a bit unreliable,” Vanessa explains, trying to play down her contribution. Maya squeezes her once more before letting go. 

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re all here,” she says, wiping a stray tear from her eye. 

“How’s your knee, son?” Robert asks. As much as Maya loves both her husband and her oldest son, she knows that once Robert goes all “how’s it going, son,” on him, that it’s about to be a man’s conversation. Bishop joins in the discussion between Robert and Rob, and Maya insists on complimenting and thanking Vanessa much to her chagrin in the interim as they walk to the nearby Starbucks. 

“You know how much it means to her to have all of you here,” Maya says, looking at Vanessa pointedly. “It already meant so much knowing you’d be here.” 

“I mean, I couldn’t have missed it if I wanted to,” Vanessa joked. 

“No, seriously. When you lived in France, seeing you was like Christmas for her every time. It also usually was Christmas.” 

“Yeah, it’s nice being around for her more,” Vanessa admits. “I missed the little nugget.” 

“She’s really so soft,” Maya replies. Vanessa laughs. 

“The affectionate daughter I never was.” 

“Don’t say it that way,” Maya insists. Vanesa shrugs. “She’s more affectionate and more of a mom’s girl, but you and I are eerily similar people. That’s the only reason we ever butt heads.” 

“Except I’d never be caught dead marrying a man.” 

Maya laughs at that one, and turns to open the door to the coffee shop. “At one point in my life, I thought the same thing.”

The Starbucks line is long, and they end up being that family who orders $40 worth of food and drinks and takes forever. Maya gets just a double shot of espresso, and Robert just a black coffee. The kids, however, take full advantage of their parents paying for coffee and breakfast—picking out a bunch of pastries and breakfast sandwiches on top of their assorted flavored lattes. They get Dakota’s favorite chocolate croissant and a birthday flavored cake pop for when she’s done with her race. Once they arrive at the field, they have to trek all the way across from the parking lot, among more than one hundred other families from across the country. Rob insists on laying low and hiding until after the race, not wanting to get Dakota off her game if she sees him right before she starts. He understands how important focus right before a big sporting event is. Maya tends to Dakota pre-race while the rest of the family stays back. She helps Dakota stretch and get comfortable in her uniform, pinning her number to her shirt. When she’s walking away to let Dakota finish her prep with her team, she walks by the announcer’s booth, and has to laugh at what she’s hearing.

“Another one of the favorites today who is an exciting story is freshman Dakota Sullivan. She’s never raced against runners of this caliber, so I’m really interested to see how she navigates this field. Her mom is actually an Olympic gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, Maya Bishop,” the first commentator says. “Maya was herself a two-time NXN winner when she was in high school.”

“Dakota’s whole family, actually, is a really interesting story, Anna,” the second commentator jumps in. “All incredible athletes. One of her brothers is Robert Sullivan, Jr., a defensive tackle in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. Her other brother, Bishop, plays on the basketball team at Duke. And her sister, Vanessa, is a professional soccer player, and plays with the U.S. Women’s National Team as well as locally in Seattle,” he explains. “Kind of crazy that one family could have so much athletic talent.”

“Yeah, it’s a fascinating story. They have a great YouTube channel where they made a series of videos about biking the Colorado Trail as a family. I think Dakota was only like ten or eleven at the time.”

Maya blushes and walks away as quick as she can, not wanting anyone to spot her and draw attention to her. She manages to make it back over to the spot the rest of the family has picked out for now.

“Did you hear your shout out?” Rob asks, chuckling. “You’re like, running royalty.”

“I better be, after I won an Olympic gold medal on a sprained ankle,” Maya quips. Rob laughs and pulls her in for a side hug. “I think you’ve gotten taller,” Maya adds, looking up at him.

“Definitely have not,” Rob clarifies. “You’re just short.”

“I’m not even short!” Maya insists. “You and Bishop are just ridiculously tall. And, at this rate, Vanessa will be my only child under six feet.”

“Dakota isn’t going to get that tall,” Vanessa says, laughing.

“She’s already almost as tall as me and she’s fourteen!”

“Well, at least Bishop will always be the tallest,” Rob points out.

“I am one of the shortest people on my team,” Bishop retorts. Maya rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, because you play basketball, dimwit,” Vanessa replies.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Robert says calmly, eyeing Vanessa. Vanessa rolls her eyes, the same way she has since she was a kid, and Maya squeezes her shoulder gently with a small smile.

They’re all a bit nervous as they get set up to start the race. They honestly don’t even see Dakota in the swarm of hundreds of kids, most of whom are bigger than her. Despite Maya’s nighttime speech the night before, she really wants Dakota to win. She knows she’s good enough, she knows she can, but she also knows that some days are your day, and some days aren’t in sports.

The energy is high and when the gun goes off, Maya feels a surge of adrenaline through her own body on instinct. They do their best to try to run around the sidelines as the race is going on, so they can try to keep track of who is running where. It isn’t until about a mile in that they’re able to see Dakota, who is sitting at the bottom of the top pack of about eight runners. One person is a bit separated from the pack leading the race, but Maya is happy to see Dakota let the older girls who have run this track before set the pace. The whole year, she’s just been running against relatively local runners, often people she lapped multiple times in longer races. She’s learned how to run alone. But running with other top runners gets in your head in a different way, and it is a skill that Dakota will have to learn from races like this one.

“She looks good,” Vanessa says, nervous energy in her voice. Maya nods.

“Yeah, I got a glimpse of her face right past there, she looks pretty calm,” Maya replies.

The runner at the front starts to get more separation from the pack, and Maya feels her stomach churn with nerves. She doesn’t want to see Dakota go chasing after the leader, but she also knows Dakota must be feeling pressure. Dakota makes her way up through the pack, but stays on the shoulder of the pack’s leader, putting her in third place while they run through the halfway point.

“Do you think she can keep this up?” Rob asks. Maya check the scoreboard where they have the splits they’re running so far and nods.

“Yeah, I think she’ll probably run about 17:15, maybe 17:10 if she’s feeling good.”

It’s a little bit cold out–typical for December—but otherwise, the conditions are pretty favorable. Maya momentarily reflects on her senior year at NXN, when she barely managed to win her second title in a torrential downpour, every inch of her body covered in mud. The last hundred meters of that race had been pure grit and pain.

By around two miles, the early frontrunner had receded back to a now-smaller top pack, Dakota sitting at the back of it in forth.

“I’m really impressed that she’s staying patient,” Vanessa mumbles. Maya nods. Now, it’s simply a matter of who makes the big move first. They make their way up a big hill, and Maya can see that they’re all getting tired. But Dakota uses her small size and youth to her advantage on the downhill, letting her legs fly and pushing closer to the top of the pack.

“Is she going to make the move?” Rob asks.

“I don’t know,” Maya replies. “It’s too soon, right now. If she tries to take off she’ll burn out and get beat at the final surge.”

Someone else takes off. Maya closes her eyes for a moment, hoping Dakota doesn’t get nervous and push too hard. It’s these kind of strategic decisions that she’s just never been faced with before, because she’s never run against people this good. Dakota surges ahead, and Maya pinches her nose with concern. The whole pack follows her, such that Dakota is now leading the top pack, in the second spot.

Once they have about half a mile to go, all hell breaks loose, and everyone starts to pick up to surge the last few minutes. Nobody can really see anything, and the family are waiting near the finish to see someone come flying around the corner for the final surge. All they can see is the scoreboard with the 2.5 mile split, which has Dakota in third, and they can faintly hear some of the commentary.

“That top pack that has really separated is Burd, Wilkes, Sullivan, and Poor. Burd had that early lead but I think she probably went too hard out of the gate, she looks like she’s really struggling holding on here. The other three are looking pretty strong, and this is getting quite fast, they’re looking at possibly finishing under 17 if there’s a big surge at the end,” the announcers explain. Maya shakes her head and bites her lip. She’s pretty confident that Dakota is not about to run under 17, but then again, crazier things have happened.

“Now we see Wilkes and Sullivan are separating, the tiny freshman is just riding her shoulder, Wilkes really trying to shake her but can’t. Keeps looking over her shoulder at her.”

“Do you think Sullivan can stay in this? I’ve never seen her close in a tight race before,” the other commentator questions.

“She looks strong, will be interesting to see if she can give Wilkes a run for her money in this final stretch.”

Everyone screams as the two girls round the final corner, with only about a tenth of a mile to go, the finish line in sight. It’s fairly flat and open terrain, with crowds of people lining the track. Maya watches as Dakota grits her teeth and both girls sprint towards the finish. Poor rounds the corner right after them, not giving either of them a whole lot of breathing room.

“Shit, she’s going to do it,” Vanessa says. Dakota starts to get a bit of separation, and Maya has no idea where this energy is coming from. She’s never seen Dakota fight like this, and it’s thrilling to watch.

“Here they come, it looks like Sullivan has the lead, she’s making a gap. She’s widening it as they approach the finish line.”

Dakota flies through the finish line first, just two seconds before Wilkes, and five seconds before Poor. Maya is in absolute shock, but all of a sudden, her husband is picking her up and putting her on her back. Maya laughs and grabs on to his shoulders, her smile so wide it almost hurts. Tears start to fall from her eyes, and she closes them, resting her head on his shoulder. They all start running, and Maya jumps off his back and runs with them over to the finish line so they can get their girl.

“And there you have it! History finally has been made! Freshman Dakota Sullivan wins the girl’s race, becoming the first freshman to ever win at Nike Cross Nationals. She finishes in 17 minutes and three seconds. What an incredible performance to watch, that’ll be one for the replays.”

Dakota is on Rob’s back before she even realizes what’s happening, and her shock over winning very quickly morphs into shock over the fact that she’s on Rob’s back.

“ROB?!” She screams, jumping off of him to see his face. “ROB?!”

He laughs, and leans back down to pick her up again.

“You’re here?!” She exclaims, holding on to him tight. They start to walk out of the way, as lots of other runners are finishing. Rob carries Dakota over to where her team has water set up and some space for them to relax and stretch.

“Wouldn’t miss my baby sister making history for the world,” he tells her, ruffling her already-messy hair, and setting her onto the ground. Her legs are aching so badly that she couldn’t stand if she wanted to, and Maya hands her a bottle of ice cold water and a cake pop. She tries to stretch and drink water, but exhaustion gets the better of her, and she lays down in the grass. Bishop pulls off his sweatshirt and puts it on her sweaty, dirty body, knowing that it’s too cold out for her not to be covered while recovering. They all sit on the ground with her, with Vanessa lying next to her.

“How are you feeling?” Vanessa asks, looking at her little sister.

“Tired,” she replies. They all have a chuckle at that.

“You really left it all out there, huh?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to let that girl beat me, so,” Dakota mumbles. They share another laugh and after a moment, Maya insists she sit up and start drinking more water. She stretches her suffering legs and grimaces hard, knowing she won’t be able to walk tomorrow. Once she starts to get cold, Maya pulls Dakota’s extra pair of leggings out of her bag and hands them over, and Dakota pulls them on over her running shorts.

“How long are you here for?” Dakota asks Rob as they walk back to the car. The awards ceremony will be in a couple of hours back at the hotel they’re staying at, so they’re all headed back there so Dakota can shower and get changed.

“I fly back late tonight,” he tells her. She nods, and smiles at him, and Maya smiles so hard she bites her lip. Robert squeezes her hand and they share a knowing smile. The rest of the kids all go back to Vanessa’s room when they get back to the hotel for a few hours, Bishop saying he needs to do some homework, Rob needing to do some PT for his knee, and Vanessa is probably just going to sit on the balcony in the freezing cold and talk to Pru. Dakota hops in the shower, and Maya and Robert change into pajamas climb into their bed for a few minutes.

“I can’t believe Dakota just won NXN as a freshman,” Maya says, laughing in shock. “Did you see her face when she realized Rob was here?”

“They love each other so much,” Robert says, kissing Maya’s neck gently.

“You know, it feels so good to know that, if anything ever happened to us, they’d take care of each other. Rob is old enough, that he could take her in if he needed to. Take care of her. She’d be fine in Chicago,” Maya explains.

“Nothing is going to happen to us,” Robert reminds her. Maya shrugs, turning to face him, stroking the back of his head with her hand.

“We’re firefighters, we both know anything could happen at any time.”

“Remember when Dakota was a baby, and Vanessa would play with her like she was one of her dolls,” Robert jokes, wanting a change of subject. Maya laughs at the memory.

“And we had to tell her that the American Girl Doll clothes were not Dakota’s clothes,” Maya replies, a big smile on her face. “I still remember that night I woke up to her crying over the baby monitor and by the time I got into her room, Rob was sitting in the rocking chair holding her.”

“Didn’t he say he got up to hold her because Vanessa had a soccer game the next day?” Robert asks, vaguely remembering that Vanessa’s elementary school soccer team had something to do with the story.

“Oh, yes, that was his stated reason. Very important that Vanessa get her sleep,” Maya jokes. “He just likes being a big brother.”

Robert runs his hands through her hair and massages her scalp gently, Maya closing her eyes for a moment at the sensation. “Sometimes I miss when they were babies,” Maya admits.

“You mean every time you get drunk and ask me for another baby?” He quips, and she laughs and swats his arm gently.

“I never thought I’d be a particularly good mom,” Maya reminds him. “When I first gave birth to Rob, I was like, what is this tiny bloody human-shaped thing and why am I supposed to be automatically in love with it?” She remembers, laughing. “But then, the first time that I picked him up and he stopped crying and put his head on my chest, I was gone.”

“I could not imagine a better mom than you,” he tells her, meaning it completely. “At one point in my life, I didn’t even know that I’d live another twenty five years. Let alone marry my favorite person in the world, have four incredible kids who love each other to death, and be able to be a parent and a partner.”

“Are you getting sentimental on me?” She questions, excitement in her eyes. She leans in for a soft kiss. “I love when you get sentimental.”

“I’m a lucky guy,” he says, with a small shrug. “Things haven’t always been easy for us. Or for them. But they’re going to be alright. All of us are.”

“I’m glad Dakota has an athletic accomplishment of her own already,” Maya says. “She has a lot more to come.”

“You know why you’re such a great mom?” He asks. She laughs, questioning why they’re still on this conversation.

“Why?” She asks, humoring him.

“Because when Dakota struggled to read, you listened to her. You helped her. You enlisted the other kids to help her, instructed them that she learned differently than they did, that reading was harder for her, that they were under no circumstances to make jokes about it or make her feel dumb. And you made sure she felt confident, that she understood that just because she couldn’t read the same way other kids did didn’t mean she didn’t have other strengths. You got her the help she needed. She’s never going to love reading, and she’s never going to love English class or History class. She’s going to continue to struggle with that. But that doesn’t define her or her path. She doesn’t need to go to Stanford or UCLA or Duke. You’ve raised her in an environment where she doesn’t feel less than when people make fun of her or tell her she’s dumb—she knows she’s brilliant, just in a different way than they are—and that their behavior is a reflection of their insecurities and their flaws, not hers. And I’ve learned so much from watching you parent her in particular. I’m so proud of you and her, for growing and learning and adapting together,” he rambles. He’s not usually one for words, but today is certainly an occasion. Maya kisses him again and then cuddles into him, not saying anything in reply. She doesn’t need to. He knows she’s grateful.

A few minutes later, the water turns off, and Dakota emerges from the bathroom, changed into her award ceremony outfit. Maya and Robert get changed as well, and Maya helps Dakota with her hair. The whole family meets up in the other room to hang out before the awards ceremony, and they all order room service lunch. They discuss everything from the race to Rob’s knee to Vanessa and Pru moving in together to Bishop’s caginess over what everyone thinks is his new girlfriend. 

“So, speaking of girlfriends, does yours paint anything other than you naked these days?” Dakota asks Vanessa pointedly. Rob laughs and Robert grimaces in discomfort.

“Yes, she’s a painter, she paints lots of things,” Vanessa insists.

“Aunt Vic said Pru paints vaginas,” Dakota replies.

“Okay, let’s not,” Maya pipes in, noticing her husband’s discomfort over the vagina conversation.

“She paints lots of things, and sometimes, those things look vaguely like vaginas,” Vanessa clarifies, avoiding eye contact with Maya.

They all head down to the hotel ballroom for the awards. They award the boy’s race first, and Maya can see Dakota practically jumping out of her skin in anticipation.

“And now, we welcome up the top ten finisher’s in our girl’s race,” the announcer says. Dakota joins the rest of the group right off the stage, and they line up in the order that they’re being called up, reverse order. It feels like forever as they all watch and wait for Dakota.

“And, our first place finisher, with a time of 17:03, is freshman Dakota Sullivan from Sumner High School!”

The family is all lined up in a row in the audience. Maya is between Robert and Rob, with Bishop and Vanessa on the other side of Rob. She squeezes both of their hands as she watches her youngest walk across the stage and step up to the top of the podium. Someone hands her a trophy and puts a medal around her neck. Dakota’s smile is so big it lights up the entire room, and then as soon as the photos on the stage are over, she starts to cry as she walks off.

Maya cries with her. Cries because she can’t believe she got this lucky in this life. Cries because when she was Dakota’s age, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be alive. Cries because each of her kids is an athletic superstar in their own right, but more than that, they love each other enough to drop everything to support each other. Cries because her husband reminded her earlier that there was a time in his life when he wasn’t sure he wanted to be alive, either. Cries because she’s still more in love with him every single day.

This is one of those moments that Maya will never forget. Like her own NXN wins, her NCAA championships, her Olympic gold medal, her trek through Kathmandu. Like the first time she shoved Robert against the wall and kissed him. Like the day he told her he loved her, the day he proposed, and the day of their wedding. Like the day Rob signed to play football at Stanford, and the day he was picked by the Chicago Bears in the NFL draft. Like the day Vanessa played her first international soccer game as a teenager, and the day she played her first senior United States Women’s National Team game. Like the day Bishop signed to play basketball at Duke, and the day he played his first March Madness knockout game.

She’s overwhelmed by how grateful she is. Because, somehow, in the end, all is well.

**Author's Note:**

> this piece was written as a birthday gift for a friend of mine in the fandom! happy birthday queen :)


End file.
